About Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a neurological brain disorder. It is a disturbance in the brain where large groups of brain cells discharge temporarily, suddenly, and uncontrollably. The clinical or visible manifestations consist of sudden, transient abnormal phenomena, which can include changes in consciousness, motor, sensory, autonomic, or psychological symptoms, observed by the patient or an observer.
Epilepsy is relatively common, with approximately 40 million people worldwide affected by it. Epilepsy is a prevalent disease on Curaçao and is colloquially referred to as “Djimpie.” However, there is still limited knowledge about epilepsy on Curaçao. It is observed that there is still a lot of superstition surrounding epilepsy. Many people believe that those who experience an epileptic seizure are possessed by an evil spirit. Therefore, many people on Curaçao keep their epilepsy hidden if they have it or if someone in their family has it.
The scientific studies “Prevalence of epilepsy in Curaçao” written by J.T. Gerbrandy (1998) for the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Groningen and “Epilepsy on Curaçao” written by Joke Dijk in collaboration with the Faculty of Medical Sciences, RuG, and supervised by Dr. I. Gerstenbluth from the Department of Epidemiology and Research on Curaçao, showed that there is a great need for a central point on Curaçao for information, education, and psychosocial support.
Ways Epileptic seizures can manifest
For the most part, people believe that an epileptic seizure occurs when a person falls down, shakes their arms and legs, but this is not always the case. An epileptic seizure can manifest in various ways:
- A seizure can last from a few seconds to several minutes.
- A person may be having an epileptic seizure, but no one may notice. For example, a person may stare blankly without reacting to anything, and you may not notice anything, but they are experiencing a seizure.
- Another manifestation involves loss of consciousness, falling, and shaking of the arms and legs.
Note of interest: A person with epilepsy can experience different types of epileptic seizures.
